Skills Training Works: Examining the Evidence

In spite of public consensus that education and training lead to economic advancement, recent federal policies have made it harder for low-income Americans to get the education and training they need to succeed in today's economy. A number of recent federal policies, like the 1996 law that established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program, have in different ways adopted a "work first" approach that encourages or requires low-income adults to find employment immediately, rather than allowing them first to develop skills that might lead to better jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits, and opportunities for steady work and advancement. This policy shift away from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." Many policymakers have heard that government-sponsored research -- such as the National Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Study, the Greater Avenues to Independence (GAIN) Evaluation and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS) -- shows that low-income adults who receive training do no better in the job market than people who do not receive such services, or who receive only the less expensive job search assistance typical of many work first strategies. In fact, a more comprehensive look at the existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training

Examining the Future Plans of Askansas High School Girls 2012

In 2011, the Women's Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) set out to update the 1973 Report of the Status of Women in Arkansas. This report was commissioned by Governor Bumpers to explore, summarize and expose the current status of women in Arkansas in the early 1970s. The 1973 Report explored the status of women through the frames of employment, education, government and political participation, healthcare, family and child care, legal rights and public image (1973 Report of the Status of Women in Arkansas). The following report, entitled Examining the Future Plans of High School Girls in Arkansas: 2012, will serve as a supplement to the updated Report and will concentrate solely on the field of education

The Obama Administration’s Proposal to Establish a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation

[Excerpt] In his FY2013 budget, President Obama proposed the creation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to help accelerate innovation by investing in industrially relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications, and to support manufacturing technology commercialization by bridging the gap between the laboratory and the market. The NNMI proposal calls for the establishment of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) funded through a one-time infusion of $1 billion in mandatory funding to the Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and carried out over a period of 10 years. Each IMI would be comprised of stakeholders from industry (including large companies and small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises), academia, federal agencies, and state government entities. According to the proposal, each IMI is to be competitively selected, serve as a regional hub for manufacturing innovation (as well as part of the national network), and have a unique focus area (e.g., an advanced material, manufacturing process, enabling technology, or industry sector). The NNMI would be managed collaboratively by NIST, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and other agencies

Public Research Universities: Serving the Public Good

Public research universities educate about 20 percent of all students nationwide; among the nation's research universities, they award 65 percent of all master's degrees and 68 percent of all research doctorate degrees. They enroll 3.8 million students, including almost 900,000 graduate students, annually.1 Public research universities produce researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and the basic research breakthroughs that drive innovation, grow our economy, and benefit the daily lives of all Americans.2 Between 2012 and 2013 alone, research at public universities resulted in more than 13,322 patent applications, 522 start-up companies, and 3,094 intellectual property licenses.Public research universities also support the upward social mobility of large numbers of talented and ambitious young people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their family to pursue postsecondary education. Public research universities provide a high-quality university education at reduced cost and act as pathways to higher-paying jobs than would otherwise be obtainable for most students. The sizable enrollment of undergraduate students from low-income families reflects the mission of public research universities to serve all facets of U.S. society; 31 percent of undergraduate students who attend public research universities receive Pell Grants, and the eight research universities with the highest shares of students who receive Pell Grants are all public.But there is growing concern about the future of these vital institutions. Over the last decade, and especially following the economic collapse of 2008, nearly every state in the nation has dramatically reduced its investment in higher education, with public research universities receiving the most severe cuts. Since 2008, public research universities have suffered a 26 percent drop in state investment.5 Further, declining federal funds for research have added to the strain, despite the slight rebound afforded by the 2016 omnibus spending measure. The current funding model is broken and getting worse, putting at risk a critical component of the nation's postsecondary education system and research infrastructure.The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has created the Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education to study the importance of public research universities, analyze economic trends affecting their operation, and recommend new strategies to sustain and strengthen these critical institutions. This publication, the fourth in a series of five Lincoln Project reports, examines the many ways in which public research universities contribute to their communities, states, regions, and the nation, and provides empirical evidence of their service to the public good

Towards the Final Frontier: Using Strategic Communication Activities to Engage the Latent Public as a Key Stakeholder in a Corporate Mission

Private corporations that do not normally interact with, nor regularly communicate with, the public often do not perceive the public as a relevant or active stakeholder. The public may not view themselves as a stakeholder, particularly when they are unaware of, have no direct dealings with, or do not have any problems associated with such a corporation. The current study, utilizing a national survey of the United States public (N = 424) found that through directed strategic communication activities of a private spaceflight corporation, utilizing social and new media tools, a latent public can perceive a corporation and its mission in a positive manner, and transition it towards a status of an aware public and possible active public. Positive perceptions were found regarding corporate credibility, brand awareness, public engagement, communicating a corporate mission, educating the public, and influencing public opinion

Afterschool in Action: Innovative Afterschool Programs Supporting Middle School Youth

This report, released by Afterschool Alliance in partnership with MetLife Foundation, highlights the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation.This compendium is a compilation of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: arts enrichment, parent engagement, school improvement and digital learning. The compendium also includes in-depth profiles of the 2012 Afterschool Innovator Award winners, as well as highlights from 2008-2011 award winners.The 2012 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Award winners are:The Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CALatino Arts Strings & Mariachi Juvenil, Milwaukee, WIKid Power Inc., The VeggieTime Project, Washington, D.C.Parma Learning Center, Parma, IDGreen Energy Technologies in the City, Lansing, M

The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. school system has disregarded differences within STEM fields. Indeed, the most important STEM field for a modern economy is not only one that is not represented by its own initial in "STEM" but also the field with the fewest number of high school students taking its classes and by far has the most room for improvement—computer science

Modern Hebrew in the U.S.

textMost researchers in second language acquisition (SLA) concur that understanding motivation is vital to promoting success and both short and long-term interest among L2 learners (Gass & Selinker, 2001). Hebrew has become an endangered language in the U.S. (Spolsky, 2009), as partly attested by a decrease in Hebrew language enrollments at U.S. universities (Furman, Goldberg, & Lusin, 2009). With this decline, an analysis is needed to investigate the diverse motivations of U.S. university students who enroll in Modern Hebrew (Feuer, 2009; Kaufman, 2010). This report examines research on this topic from both Hebrew-specific studies and general SLA research, through a discussion of motivation, heritage language learners, and Hebrew learners. Relevant issues and implications are considered in light of five areas of discussion that are common to the Hebrew teaching field.Foreign Language Educatio

Nothing But Net: American Workers and the Information Economy

Explores the implications of the information economy for American workers, including worker experience with computers, perceptions about their future in the information economy, and the role of government in how technology affects jobs and prosperity in the information age

University Innovation and the Professor’s Privilige

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